The invention relates generally to welding systems and, more particularly, to systems and methods for pairing welding devices in a welding system.
Welding is a process that has increasingly become utilized in various industries and applications. Such processes may be automated in certain contexts, although a large number of applications continue to exist for manual welding operations. In both cases, such welding operations rely on communication between a variety of types of equipment (e.g., devices) to ensure that welding operations are performed properly.
Certain welding systems may include devices that communicate with each other using wired communication, while other welding systems may include devices that communicate with each other using wireless communication. Devices within the welding systems may be paired together so that the devices know what to communicate with within the welding system. For example, a first welding system may include a first welding power supply paired with a first wire feeder. As another example, a second welding system may include a second welding power supply paired with a first remote control device. As will be appreciated, wired and/or wireless communication may be susceptible to cross-talk or other interference. Accordingly, devices that attempt to pair together automatically (e.g., without user interaction) may become incorrectly paired.
A wide range of technologies have been developed for ensuring proper pairing of devices, particularly in the wireless area. Many of the protocols utilized there, however, are inappropriate to welding applications, particularly insomuch as they are not sufficiently robust, may result in wrong pairing, and do not address the crosstalk issues that may exist, particularly where welding conductors are positioned near one another and to various degrees may become inductively coupled, thereby exacerbating the potential for crosstalk.